calving heater boxes

[red]

Does anyone use these boxes to warm up cold calves? If so how long do you typically leave the calf in & what are they like? Are they worth the money?
Thanks
Red (cow)

 

[cert]

Hey Red, we don't have a commercially made heater box but we have our own method that works pretty well.
We have a cap on the old farm truck and put a propane heater in the front of the bed. Close the cap up and it gets pretty toasty in there. We have a heavy blanket on the truck bed and a box it is stocked with the necessary calf meds and lots of towels. Warm enough to help the calf but not too warm to get it sick when you dump it back out with mamma. It also helps to be able to get away from the occasional aggressive mother. One problem is that you have to be able to pick that calf up chest high to get it in the bed of the truck.

Neighbor of ours parted out one of his junkers and kept the bed. Did the same thing we did but hooked it to the 4-wheeler. Eaiser for him to put the calves in but not as much protection from a ticked off mamma. I'm thinking that you wouldn't have to worry about cows with the "range" mentality and this set up might work for ya. Just a thought.

We couldn't justify the cost of a boughten box. This works great for us. Good luck!! 8)

 

[Jill]

We purchased one of those 3 or 4 years ago and it pays for itself every year!  We only use it when the temps get low (they haven't been to bad the last couple of years) but the few days we do use it it is a life saver.  We put the calves in the box until they are dry, if they will eat first we let them do that.  The box has a huge advantage in my mind because the mother can still see the calf as apposed to pulling the calf to another location.  They are a little pricey, but I think one of our best investments!

We had a calf last year that we literally brought back from dead, the calf was snow white and blended in with the snow, she had had the calf out by the hay ring and by the time we found it the calf was hard and stiff, we lost the ears, but the calf warmed up and lived.

 

[red]

Jill, where do you get them at? what kind is yours?
Thanks,
Red

 

[genes]

We just have a corner in the barn's pump room blocked off with plywood, covered with tarp, with a heating lamp in it.  Not fancy, but it does work.  Of course it does mean bringing them away from Momma for awhile, and sometimes getting it in the barn.

 

[red]

I found this information while doing some searching.
http://www.animalrangeextension.montana.edu/articles/beef/reproduction/hypothermic.htm

Red

 

[red]

Hot Boxes
Hot boxes are completely enclosed, insulated boxes which hold one or two calves. Calves are placed in these boxes until they have dried off and gained some strength (Figure 14). Supplemental heat keeps the box warm.

Typical dimensions are 3 to 4 ft. (1 to 1.2 m) wide by 4 ft. (1.2 m) high by 4 to 8 ft. (1.2 to 2.4 m) long. Multiples of 4 ft. (1.2 m) dimensions use plywood efficiently with minimal cutting. These boxes are usually placed inside a cattle shed or uninsulated building which is close to the calving area.

 

[Jill]

Jill, where do you get them at? what kind is yours?
Thanks,
Red

We got ours from Valley Vet, not nearly as big as the one you have pictured.  It is called Roy-L-Heat, it is portable about the size of a dog house and plugs in to an electric cord.  The top opens up and the front of it has a rubber flap opening.

 

[red]

Thanks Jill, those were the kind I read about.
A friend sent me this e-mail I don't think he'll mind me sharing it!

Cathy, I was reading your question on steerplanet.com about the heating boxes. My uncle Dale built one for me some years back. They do work better than anything that I have ever tried B-4 by far. The secret to their effectiness, I believe is that the calf is above the heater on a mess floor and the heater has a fan on it to move the air around it, more of a confection type of heat. The one that my uncle build me cost me $500.00 awhile ago. He made it out of recycled plastic, tenderfoot flooring, and a small heater that he picked up @ a Wal-Mart store. It looks like a big dog house. The top is removable to get the calf in and out. There is an opening in the one end for circulation. I walked out the other nite and had a little Heetseeker out of a 1st calf heifer born, but standing,thank God that it got up, frosty white, threw it into the dog house for 2-3 hrs, plus bagged it with 20 ozs. of colostrum and then took it back to the heifer in the barn. By that night I saw it nursing. It was extremely cold that nite. I would say between 10&20 below with the wind chill factor. When it's that cold we do wipe off the head and ears as well as we can. The biggest scare for me when we take them away like that, especially with 1st calvers is that they may not get associated well enough B-4 we have to take them away, but dead calves are no fun @ all.
Thanks, Brent!!
Red

 

[CAB]

Red, This is the thread that you asked for I'm sure if anyone wants to try to build one that my uncle has his plans saved somewhere & that I could get them for anyone. If I can help , please let me know. I'm going to make sure mine is ready to go. Keaton has a 1st calf heifer due with our 1st Money man calf 1/16/08.

 

[Turkey Creek Ranch]

We made a small box out of plywood and used a small house heater. It has saved many calves and has been well worth it.

 

[nelpoby]

Red: I have used the Roy-L-Heat Calf warmer for two years now and I couldn't be happier with it.  I believe the secret to the warmer is the fact that the warm air blows under the calf so the entire calf is exposed to the heat which warms the calf up more efficiently.  I know during last winter I had three neighbors bring their calves over with one calf's temp down to 88 degrees and we were able to save it.  I also put  warm colostrum down each calf we place in the warmer to help it get started as well.  As to how long I leave the calf in the warmer depends some on the outside temperature.  Since the heater draws air from the outside, the colder the out side temperature is the longer it takes to warm the calf up.  I have had them in it as little as two hours and as long as six hours with 3-4 hours being the average.  With the price of one club calf I think it pays for itself fairly quickly.

 

[kanshow]

We got ours at Valley Vet... They are pricey but well worth the money.  Seems like alot of the big ticket items we buy seem like they will be hard to justify or feel like they were worth the $$  but this one truly is.    Like Jill said, it pays for itself over and over.  My big complaint is that they are not big enough for us - we synchronize heifers and often get several calves born within hours of each other.  I would consider purchasing a second one as this one has more than paid for itself.    We've left calves in overnight but normal time is 2 - 4  hours...  We want them dry & hungry when they come out. 

 

[common sense]

I agree completely on getting them off the floor and getting the heat around them.  Our vet actually has an old raised farrowing crate.  My biggest word of caution on any heating container is to be careful not to shock the calf. If their body temp is low and you put them into a box that is hot to begin with I think that it almost makes them go into shock.  They need to warm gradually.  All of us at one time have spent some time in the basement shower with a half froze bovine in our arms.  Remember how it feels when you come into the house and your hands are freezing and you run them under warm water...it feels HOT.  That calf feels the same way.

I was in a pinch once and actually used our indoor cattle work chute as a hot box.  We threw a heavy tarp over the entire chute, dropped the tailgate and put the calf in the chute.  We placed a heater in the palpation sections so that nothing could tip it over.  We put a warm rug and bedding under the calf and kept rotating it.  It worked really great when we needed something fast.

 

[justintime]

We have several commercial ones built here in Canada and most of the farm supply stores carry them. Most are made of plastic and have a raised floor and the heat is sourced through the bottom so that it heats the calf from all around. In our climate they are definitely worth the money. I have used it even in April when a cow has calved out in the pasture on a cool day with a raw wind. It don't take much to  shock a baby calf and I am always amazed how they are even able to survive, coming from a warm 96 to 98 degree enviroment to a cold -20 degree ( or more) temp. I doubt if any of us would enjoy taking a shower and then standing out in the wind for a few hours.
If the calf is unable to nurse or suck a bottle, I always tube them with warm colostrum so that they start to warm also from the inside out. If I can't get colostrum from the mom, I always use the packaged colostrum powder. I know that some people still buy colostrum from a neighbourhood dairy, however I feel that this should be a banned practice. I can think of no better way to introduce Johne's disease into a clean herd than this practice.
If you haven't got a heating box, either build one or buy one. You will never regret buying it if you have to use it even once. And as granddad used to say... what you send on it won't really matter to you or anyone else a hundred years from now.